Sanath Jayasuriya arrives in Toronto for T20 match

Former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya is currently in Canada for a Twenty20 match to be played today at Toronto's Rogers Centre between an Asian XI team and a World XI team.

It was announced last evening that Jayasuriya will lead the Asian XI team following the withdrawal of all Pakistani players from the match.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to release its players including Shahid Afridi, who was the initial candidate for Asian skipper.

Former West Indian great Brian Lara will lead the World XI team.

Organisers say they spent the last few days trying to convince the PCB to release the players for the match, and had even requested government-level intervention through the Pakistan High Commission at the eleventh hour.

Pakistani players are preparing for a Test, ODI and T20 series against Sri Lanka, which starts with a Twenty20 series on June 1.